One Thing
by CherriesandRoses89
Summary: She's long been over him but Sakura still has memories of a dark past, and because of that, she's scared. Maybe he can prove to her that he won't ever leave her, that he'll always be by her side, holding her hand. NaruSaku friendship NejiSaku. Oneshot RnR


**I do not own Naruto.**

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ONE THING

A certain blond shinobi sighed as he saw a pink-haired ANBU medic look up from her desk to look out the window at a cherry-blossom tree in full bloom.

'_How did she do it?'_ He wondered. But then again, he'd been gone two and a half years. And during his absence, Haruno Sakura had become the Hokage's apprentice. He was glad to admit that Sakura had grown a lot; perhaps not as much as he in stature, but she had gone from the crying — well, not weakling — crying twelve-year-old girl, to a respected young lady, surpassing the renowned Godaime herself, both in physical strength and medical skills. Naruto would never have expected it of Sakura.

"Anything the matter, Naruto?" asked the pink-haired medic, smiling slightly and returning to her paperwork.

"Huh?" Naruto shook his head to clear it. "No, I'm fine, Sakura-chan."

"You never will call me just Sakura, will you? You spaced out for a minute there."

"Yeah, sorry about that."

"What were you thinking about, if you don't mind me asking?" said Sakura as she neatly stacked the many papers on her desk, placing some of them in files. She walked over to a filing cabinet, opened a drawer and returned several files to their respective places.

"Um, nothing really, Sakura-chan. Just on how much you've, well, _grown_. I mean, yeah it's been over two years since I returned, but it's — you're amazing, Sakura-chan! Like, you used to punch me when we were kids, and all; but now, I'd probably die if I got one of your super punches — if I'm lucky that is. Worst case scenario after getting punched by you: alive and fully conscious of all the pain from several broken bones."

Sakura laughed and Naruto smiled.

"Oh, Naruto, you really are sweet," she said, giving him a peck on the cheek. He grinned.

"Well, I'm done here now and my shift is over," said Sakura, taking off her white medic coat and hanging it on a peg beside the door. She freed her shoulder-length locks from their ponytail and pulled open the office door.

"So you're really having ramen at Ichiraku's for lunch with me?" asked Naruto enthusiastically.

"Hai. Now let's go, Naruto. I'm hungry," said Sakura, smiling.

"Yeah! It's my treat Sakura-chan!"

And they walked out of Konoha Hospital together.

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"Ano, Naruto, where's Hinata?" Sakura asked, pulling her bowl of steaming miso ramen closer to her.

Naruto swallowed loudly. "She should be here in a few minutes," he said, smacking his lips.

Sure enough, five minutes later, a dark-haired, white-eyed girl walked up to the ramen stand.

"Naruto-kun! Sakura-chan!" Hinata waved happily at the two teammates. They waved back. Naruto gave Hinata a quick kiss as she sat down.

Sakura quietly ate her food, content to watch and listen as the couple chatted animatedly about trivial matters. _'You're still the same cheerful person I knew you to be, Naruto'_ she thought to herself. _'But you have matured a lot — in areas where it really matters, anyway.'_

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"Thanks again for lunch, Naruto," Sakura called out. "Ja ne!"

The couple waved heartily back at her as they went their separate ways. Naruto held Hinata's hand as they headed for the training grounds. Sakura wasn't exactly sure if sparring was the only thing on their minds.

Sakura began her walk home, humming cheerfully. As she neared her home, however, she stopped. She saw Sai walking down the other end of the street and decided that her house was the last place she wanted to be right now. So she turned around and let her feet take her where they would while her mind wandered.

She admired Naruto. He had always been an 'annoying little brat' as Tsunade-shishou referred to him, but she could see now that Naruto, despite his cheekiness, held a lot of potential. Perhaps that was why the Godaime was seriously considering naming him her successor. And Sakura approved. Naruto deserved it. It had been his dream to become Hokage since their Academy days.

Naruto had been surprisingly strong even before he left to train with Jiraiya-sama. Now he had the skill to match his strength. Sakura smiled to herself. She knew Naruto's cheekiness and mischief was all a cover-up; a protective shield which sheltered from everyone else the pain and loneliness and hurt he had borne. People had always spoken about him behind his back. They berated him, laughed at him. But he fought against all that. And eventually they cane to recognize him; they acknowledged him as a great ninja — a person. Despite the pain, hardships and unfairness he endured, despite all the loneliness and suffering, Uzumaki Naruto fought back and came out victorious.

'_Now look at him,'_ Sakura thought. _'he's happy. Hinata's happy. She doesn't even stammer when she's around him anymore.'_

As she thought this, Sakura sighed. She looked up and found herself standing underneath the cherry-blossom tree she had been looking at earlier today. She sat down on the grass, leaning her back against the sturdy trunk. Pink petals fell about her. She gently fingered a small blossom that had fallen into her open hand. She sighed again as her mind gave way to darker reflections.

How long had it been since he had defected from Konoha? Almost four years? The body transfer had been due in three years. She wondered what had become of him. Had that despicable snake-sannin Orochimaru taken over Uchiha Sasuke's body? Or did the prodigy escape the snake's clutches? Perhaps he killed the snake sannin then went to kill his brother. His brother. Uchiha Itachi. That man was the cause of all this trouble, all this pain. Sakura felt hatred course through her veins. The same hatred she had felt the first time she had seen him on their mission to save Sabaku no Gaara, the Kazekage. This was his doing, Uchiha Itachi.

Things might have been different if Itachi had not slaughtered his whole clan. Sure Orochimaru might still be around and on his quest for eternal life and the knowledge of all the jutsus known to mankind, but maybe Sasuke would not have been an avenger, as he called himself. He might not have been so cold, so indifferent. He might have been cheerful instead. He might have smiled more, even laughed or joked. He would have been different. _They_ would have been different. Maybe, anyway.

But what had become of Sasuke now? Where was he? What was he doing? Was he still even alive? Sakura was sure he was alive. Word would have surely gotten to them of he had died.

Perhaps she had loved him once, a long time ago. Perhaps she loved him still. But the Sasuke she once loved was no more, she knew. And the infatuation had long since disappeared. In fact, **Inner Sakura** had taken to doing cartwheels every time a certain other someone was within close proximity.

"What are you doing sitting down there and sighing with the wind, Haruno?" said a deep male voice.

Sakura looked up from the petals she had been stroking to see her dark-haired, pearl-eyed ANBU Captain standing over her.

"Nothing, Captain," she replied, dropping her gaze again. "I like coming out here to relax."

"Hn."

There was nothing but silence between them for a few moments save for the rustle of leaves as the wind caressed the trees.

"And what are you doing here?" she asked the Hyuuga. Had she looked up at his face, she might have seen his cheeks grow embarrassingly pink. She would have seen his pearl gaze shift uneasily as he searched frantically for an answer to the young lady seated at his feet. She was surrounded by that which she was named after and looked as if she was one with eyes green as the grass beneath her and hair as soft and pink as the flowers around her.

"I was just taking a walk, Haruno."

"Aa," said Sakura absently.

The shadow over her disappeared and Sakura thought Neji had left her to her thoughts. **Inner Sakura** was about to begin a tirade of curses when she felt someone sit down on the grass beside her. She looked in surprise at her ANBU Captain, but Neji did not speak. He just stared at the pink petals on the green grass. So Sakura leaned her head against the tree and closed her eyes. His silent presence was at least a little comfort as well as a distraction from dark thoughts of a former teammate turned missing-nin.

She might have been tired, but she was nowhere near sleepy even though her eyes were closed. In fact, Hyuuga Naji's appearance had dispelled almost all traces of weariness and replaced it with a nervousness that planted a million butterflies in her stomach.

"Sakura."

Sakura opened her eyes, registering the use of her first name.

"Nani?" she asked.

Neji frowned slightly, finding his feet very interesting at the moment. "You're not still thinking about _him_, are you?" he asked.

Sakura gave a little start. What did he just ask her? She nervously played with her fingers in an almost Hinata-like fashion. This showed that she was more than just nervous for since she had become Tsunade's apprentice, she had made sure not to show any sign of weakness to anyone. Her fidgeting and deliberating for time, however, did not surprise the Hyuuga, considering the unexpectedness of the question he had just asked. But he was not going to stammer apologies now. He prayed that he had not upset her too much, but he _needed_ an answer to that question.

"It's now like I've just forgotten about him," she said slowly in a voice barely above a whisper. Neji stole a glance at her. She was staring into space but he knew that some hurt still lingered. And he knew that there would always be that bit that remained there forever.

"I'm sure none of us have forgotten," she went on.

_Damn right, we haven't_, he thought to himself. All the other boys of the rookie nine bore a deep grudge against the youngest Uchiha for all the hurt and damage he had inflicted on their close friends; in particular, Naruto and Sakura.

"But it's not like I'm devotedly waiting like a love-struck twelve-year-old," she said. "That ended a long time ago."

Neji saw her lean her head back against the tree again. This time, however, she looked up at the sky, watching the clouds go by and the birds fly past as they twittered away.

Sakura awoke from her Shikamaru-like cloud-watching reverie when Neji stood up. She looked at him curiously as he cracked his knuckles and gave a little huff. Then, to her surprise, he held out his hand to her.

"Come walk with me," he said simply.

Sakura could not help but stare at the handsome ANBU Captain. She opened her mouth to speak but all that came out was, "What?"

"Well," he said, slightly flustered, but quickly recovering, "You're one of the most valuable assets in my team. And despite all the time we're together on missions, we never get to talk properly."

Sakura smiled. It was so un-Neji-like to be nervous at all. But she supposed this was, for him anyway, the least embarrassing way to 'ask her out'. **Inner Sakura**, on the other hand, punched air and shouted, **"Shannaro!"**

So, Sakura placed her hand in his and allowed him to help her up. He did not let go of her hand, though, and Sakura was content to leave it be where it was. She smiled at him, and he gave a small smile in return. She wasn't used to seeing him smile, but it only enhanced his already handsome features. And so they walked and talked. And Sakura realized that, despite all the ugliness, there were still good things in the world. Many of them just hiding and waiting to be called out. And maybe, just maybe — no, she would not allow it to happen again. Something told her that this time, he would not walk away.

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I wrote this one-shot on a whim at two in the morning. Hope you liked it.**

**Please review. (And tell me if you want this one-shot turned into a longer story, though I guess it's fine as it is)**

**Ja ne!**

**--Gloria.**


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